Tim GideonBowers & Wilkins Zeppelin AirWith Bowers and Wilkins, you definitely pay for the name and visual design as much as the audio quality. But excellent-sounding Zeppelin Air iPod dock with wireless streaming via AirPlay does not disappoint.

With Bowers and Wilkins, you definitely pay for the name and visual design as much as the audio quality. But excellent-sounding Zeppelin Air iPod dock with wireless streaming via AirPlay does not disappoint.

Bowers & Wilkins speakers are not known for their affordability, and the Zeppelin Air, an update to the original Zeppelin iPod dock ($599.95, 4 stars), is no exception. At $599.95 (list), it's as much pricey design piece as audio system. B&W adds wireless streaming via Apple's AirPlay feature and improved speaker drivers to the equation with the Zeppelin Air, but unfortunately the renowned audio manufacturer still uses the same feature-barren-but-good-looking remote control. Serious audiophiles should steer clear, as B&W applies signal processing at high volumes to avoid distortion, but music lovers less concerned with sonic purity (and who have the budget for it) should consider this excellent-sounding system, our latest high-end Editors' Choice iPod dock.

Design

The 13.5-pound Zeppelin Air, which measures 6.8 by 25.2 by 8.2 inches (HWD), looks nearly identical to the original Zeppelin, which is to say: it's big. The primarily black, oblong contour looks kind of like a prehistoric egg covered in black speaker grille cloth. A polished metallic arm houses the 30-pin docking connector for iPhones, iPods, and iPads, and creates the cool illusion that the iPod is floating in front of the speakers. Behind the dock, a thin vertical panel that houses the Power and Volume controls bisects the speaker section. The Zeppelin Air's connections on the rear panel are, left to right, power, Ethernet, USB 2.0 (which allows you to sync docked iOS devices), 3.5-mm Aux input, and component video output for sending video content from the docked device to a television and using the Zeppelin Air for audio.

Also included: a great-looking but frustrating remote control, also featuring a black egg-themed design. Such an expensive speaker dock should offer full menu navigation on the remote, but the Zeppelin Air's remote merely plays, pauses, or skips forward and backward. There are also buttons for Power, Volume, and an input source button, but you can't navigate your iPod's menus.

Performance

The Zeppelin Air offers similar audio performance to the Bowers & Wilkins MM-1 PC speakers ($499.95, 4 stars). The two systems share the same tweeters for high frequency response—one of the internal upgrades the Zeppelin Air has over the original Zeppelin. Another improvement is the new 3.5-inch drivers used for the mid-range. In all, the Zeppelin air has two tweeters, two mid-range drivers, and what B&W describes an an internal subwoofer—though with the frequency range beginning around 36Hz, the subwoofer misses some of the very lowest frequencies that subs traditionally cover. It doesn't particularly matter since the Zeppelin Air offers plenty of low-end response. The new mid-range drivers offer articulate performance, and the tweeters offer a crispness that doesn't ever venture into overly-bright territory. On "Dr. Atomic Symphony," by John Adams, the deep rumble of the drums is paired nicely with the system's clean delivery of the orchestra's higher ranges. Bill Callahan's vocals on "Sycamore" are presented with a pleasant high-end edge and a full baritone roundness. Particularly at reasonable listening levels, this is a music lover's speaker dock.

The issue audiophiles will have with the Zeppelin Air is its signal processing. Simply put, at very high volumes, the audio for certain trouble ranges, like the lowest frequencies, gets dynamically compressed slightly—meaning, their relative volume is limited before it can reach distortion levels. On all but the most powerful bass-heavy parts, like the drum hits on the Knife's "Silent Shout" playing at maximum volume, the Zeppelin Air succeeds in avoiding distortion. Minor clipping can be heard when the speakers do distort, but this, to reiterate, only occurs on very challenging songs at extremely high volumes. The signal processing that ensures this is not an issue 99 percent of the time, however, changes the dynamic response and shape of the sound waves at high volumes. While it may sound perfectly agreeable to most ears, sound purists might find it a problem—this is consumer a system, not pro gear or audiophile-level gear.

As for the AirPlay feature, once you get it set up, it's a joy to use. I detected very little difference between the sound of the docked iPod touch I was using and the same songs being streamed via AirPlay over Wi-Fi. There does, however, seem to be a lag in playback time—between when you tap play or pause and when the effects are actually heard. The lag is minimal and not a true nuisance, but it exists. There also seems to be a quick fade-in when playing songs first and then hitting the AirPlay control on your Apple device. Again, not a huge annoyance, but not necessarily ideal. The trade-off, of course, is excellent sound, wirelessly streamed from your iPhone 4, iPod touch, iPad, iPad 2, or the iTunes library on your computer.

AirPlay set up is clearly laid out in the included directions, but the process is a minor pain. It involves connecting an Ethernet cable to your computer and the speaker dock and following a short process of power cable attaching, powering up, and Web browser usage. In our labs, we actually had some issues at first, but it seems this was perhaps due to our computer actually being connected via Wi-Fi to the Internet, which is not necessary for the set-up. Once the computer was disconnected, but attached to the Zeppelin Air via Ethernet, the process of entering the Wi-Fi network password to get the Zeppelin Air access to the network was simple. Don't enter the password incorrectly, however—the information gets auto-saved it can be tedious to change. Once the purple flashing LED on the dock arm stops blinking, the connection is established and your dock is ready for AirPlay streaming. Throw that Ethernet cable in a drawer, reconnect your PC to the Internet, and start streaming music from your Apple devices to the Zeppelin Air.

At the very high-end, there's not a lot of direct competition for the Zeppelin Air. The Beatbox by Dr. Dre from Monster ($449.95, 4 stars) offers thundering low-end with no distortion, and while it's quite expensive, it's still $150 less than the Zeppelin Air. However, it lacks any wireless streaming functionality and neither looks nor feels nearly as well-designed. As for remotes, both systems have pretty weak offerings in this department. The Zeppelin Air, however, is easier to forgive since whenever you use AirPlay, your portable device becomes its own remote. If you like the B&W aesthetic, but $600 is too much for your budget, the less expensive B&W Zeppelin Mini ($399.95, 3.5 stars) is a smaller dock that might be worth your attention—but it's still not cheap, and again, won't stream your music. And the aforementioned B&W MM-1 PC speakers are excellent if you are willing to forgo the built-in iPod dock.

If you're not willing to spend more than half-a-grand on a streaming-audio sound system, there are more affordable iPod dock choices like the Creative ZiiSound D5 ($299.99, 3 stars) and the Soundfreaq Sound Platform (SFQ-01) ($199.99, 3.5 stars). Neither is an audio masterpiece, but both offer wireless audio at a fraction of the cost of the Zeppelin Air.

The Zeppelin Air, though, is as much of a stunning conversation piece as it is an excellent speaker dock. The design, and the added AirPlay functionality helps justify the price, but make no mistake: for the same price, you could buy some kick-ass speakers and a stereo receiver.

Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Air

Bottom Line: With Bowers and Wilkins, you definitely pay for the name and visual design as much as the audio quality. But excellent-sounding Zeppelin Air iPod dock with wireless streaming via AirPlay does not disappoint.

Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Air

Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Air

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